You’re probably using all the channels available to you, but have you really defined the message that you’re sending?

Marketing in the digital age is a marathon, not a sprint. And a marathon requires you to pace yourself, plan ahead, and play to your strengths. If you don’t have a strategy to finish the race, then you’re not going to do very well. It’s exactly the same with digital marketing.

 

Without a massive marketing budget, you’re not going to make an impact in the digital economy with one or two huge ad placements. “But what about going viral?” I hear you say. Well, it could happen, but it’s not something you can bank on. And if it does happen, it will almost definitely not be something you planned. You cannot build a strategy around ‘going viral.’

 

Your best bet for long-term growth is an ambitious, yet realistic digital marketing strategy.

 


Define Your Message. Drill down into your business to discover what it is you really, really want to do, boil it down to one simple statement of intent, and then spread that message over and over again in new and creative ways.

 

Define Your Audience. Who is the ideal person for you to pitch to? Build up a profile of your ideal customer, including their age, gender, interests, income, etc. Then, find out what digital platforms they’re on and make sure that’s where you’re targeting your messaging.

 

The SWOT Analysis

 

A research project during the 1960s and 1970s invented a method called the SWOT Analysis. The goal was to investigate why corporate planning often failed. The work they did has been adopted by the marketing industry, and it’s an extremely valuable way for you to figure out your marketing strategy. Make a list with the following categories:

 

Strengths: List aspects of the photography business where you feel really confident.

Try to zero in on one particular thing that you are uniquely qualified to do, be it due to your life experience, your training, or your particular region.

 

Weaknesses: On the flipside, be honest with yourself about where you need to improve, what kind of work you don’t want to do, and what you need help with.

 

Opportunities: Do you see any gaps in the market? Are there any sectors where you know that people value you in particular to do the job? How do the strengths you listed above manifest in opportunities?

 

Threats: What problems can you see on the horizon, and how will you deal with them?

 

Armed with this information and self-awareness, you can shape a strategy that will work for you. Build steadily, converting followers into customers by offering them compelling reasons to reach out to you for whatever they need.

 

In that way, you will build a community that is passionate about your work.

 

Once you have your strategy in place, you can build a website that reflects your new identity at Folio Websites. Use Folio to showcase your best photographs, provide content for your social media feed, and provide an easy-to-use blogging platform to share your thoughts with the world. Try Folio now.